Alberta cancer rate in decline

Health system struggles under aging population

Lance Krobel was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009 and underwent surgery and intense chemo/radiation. Since then, he’s been volunteering with the Canadian Cancer Society.

Photograph by: Lorraine Hjalte
, Calgary Herald

CALGARY — The risk of getting cancer is decreasing “slowly, steadily and significantly” in Alberta, but with a growing and aging population, the number of new patients is climbing, putting mounting pressure on treatment space in the province, new figures show.

Dr. Paul Grundy, Alberta Health Services cancer care senior vice-president, credits public health efforts made around preventing cancer and encouraging screening for helping chip away at the province’s rate of the disease, which has dropped by about one per cent a year between 2002 and 2010.

Better treatment options, meanwhile, mean more patients are getting better and living longer. Mortality rates have decreased by 2.8 per cent a year between 2004 and 2010, according to Alberta cancer surveillance statistics released on World Cancer Day, Monday.

“Some of the cancer screening programs actually prevent cancer by diagnosing some of them so early they’re not actually cancer yet and you can deal with them before they become cancer,” Grundy said.

“The most effective thing we can do is try to prevent more cases. These statistics show that’s not a pipe dream, that can be reality.”

Still, Alberta’s changing demographics mean the number of new cases is growing as the province’s population increases and residents age.

According to the statistics, there were 15,232 new cancer cases diagnosed in Alberta in 2010, while 5,526 residents died from the disease.

Within 20 years, the province could see the number of cancer cases double, Grundy said.

“You don’t have to know very much about the health-care system to say, ‘Wow, that’s a big challenge.’ ”

Calgary, in particular, has struggled with treatment space as the city’s 30-year-old Tom Baker Cancer centre hit capacity more than a decade ago.

Grundy confirmed the provincial health authority has government approval to do some initial “comprehensive planning” for a new centre, however, the massive capital project has not been signed off on.

“We are very seriously determining how we can best deal with the capacity issues that are already there,” Grundy said.

“We are managing, we’re seeing the patients that need to be seen.”

Calgarian Lance Krobel has seen the reach of cancer in the city, and the effects of maxed-out treatment space.

The 56-year-old was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009 and underwent surgery to remove a malignant brain tumour, called oligodendroglioma, followed by intensive radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

More than three years later, unable to work at his old mattress-selling business, he now spends his days volunteering with the Canadian Cancer Society, driving patients to and from their Tom Baker appointments.

“It’s always packed. It’s backed up to the seams in a lot of cases,” Krobel said.

The Calgarian figures he’s driven between 200 and 300 patients to the cancer centre. Each trip hammers home the extent of the disease.

“The lung cancer, the brain cancer, the myelomas, all that stuff. There’s not much I haven’t seen,” Krobel said.

Many of his passengers are coping with their second, or even third, bout with the disease. Some have died.

“I’m pretty lucky, when I see some of the things other people have to go through.”

Health Minister Fred Horne said the Alberta government is committed to providing “world-class cancer prevention and treatment.

“It’s clear that the efforts of our researchers and clinicians are making a difference: the proportion of Albertans developing cancer is going down and the proportion of Albertans who survive cancer is going up,” said Horne, who called the trends encouraging.

While Horne has remained mum on whether Calgary is up for a new cancer centre — a massive, costly infrastructure project — Alberta has taken other steps to improve cancer control.

The province is expanding a radiation therapy “corridor,” with new facilities being constructed in Red Deer and Grande Prairie to complement treatment already done in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge. A new patient navigator system is also being developed.

According to the new figures, breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer were the most commonly diagnosed in Alberta, making up more than half of new cases in 2010.

Among women, breast cancer was the most common, however, incidence rates have remained stable in the past 20 years.

Prostate cancer was most likely among men, though incidence rates have fallen in the past 12 years.

The new report shows that cancer is the second leading causing of death in Alberta after cardiovascular disease. It’s also the No. 1 cause of death in residents aged 35-64.

Lung cancer remained the leading cause of deaths from the disease in both men and women, leading to 1,450 cancer deaths in 2010.

One encouraging sign, said Grundy, is that the incidence of lung cancer in men is falling. Grundy said the province is only now seeing the effect of the aggressive stop-smoking campaigns of the past 15 or so years.

“This is actually proving that we can make a difference, that changing smoking behaviours does make a difference,” Grundy said.

Also striking is the fact that lung cancer in women appears to be on the rise, he said.

“On the one hand, the male side is really hopeful. It really translates something from the theoretical to, ‘Hey, this can happen.’ The fact it’s not happening for women is scary,” Grundy said.

While creating more treatment space remains a health system priority, the most effective, long-term solutions are the “non-sexy” things — stopping smoking, safe sun behaviour, exercising and eating a healthy diet, Grundy said.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.